Taking Care of Things
by RikersSB
Summary: (P/T, Ficlet) Following the events of Blood Fever, B'Elanna has to take care of certain things herself.


Summary:

(P/T ficlet) Following the events of Blood Fever, B'Elanna has to take care of certain things herself.

Notes:

Written as a companion piece to Sareki's Delayed Reactions," itself the response to a challenge/prompt to write "frantic embarrassing masturbation fic." Takes place between Blood Fever and Revulsion, maybe two days before Delayed Reactions. From B'Elanna's POV. All the thanks to Sareki, first for writing Delayed Reactions and thus inventing the genre of "tasteful masturbation fic," and second for her incredibly helpful work betaing my fic.

**Taking Care of Things**

It had been a long day in Engineering and B'Elanna Torres was tired, sore, and dirty. A plasma injector had blown and it had taken all day to replace it and realign the plasma manifolds by hand. She wanted nothing more than a quick sonic shower and to climb into bed.

Well, almost nothing. She stripped out of her dirty, singed uniform and tossed it gratefully into the refresher, then stepped into the shower. Leaning back against the wall, she activated the sonic pulses and let her mind drift. She had felt on edge ever since Sakari. Nothing had happened and she had let Tom know she wanted it to stay that way. And he had been well behaved. He'd been a friend and nothing more.

She was thankful for his friendship. But she just couldn't quite make her body forget the overwhelming desire she'd felt for him in those caves. She felt certain that after she got these… _feelings_ that had been stirred up by the pon farr completely out of her system, everything could go back to normal. But until that happened, she was left alone with her thoughts and her fingers to take care her needs.

Her nipples tightened as the sonic pulses washed over her body. Her hands traveled over her skin, sliding over her breasts, fingertips dragging over her nipples before sliding down her belly. She imagined the strong hands of a faceless man touching her as she slid fingers between her lips. She sighed as they slid softly over her clit, already wet with her excitement.

As she slid her fingers over and around her clit, her fantasy became more detailed. She felt strong hands on her body, gentle at first, then rougher, overcome with passion. He was tall, and he leaned down to kiss her, devouring her mouth and making her gasp. She slipped her fingers inside herself, imagining it was him, her name on his lips as he pushed into her for the first time.

B'Elanna came with a gasp, one hand on her breast and the other between her thighs as her fantasy came into focus. Tall, blond hair, blue eyes. Strong hands. She bite down on her lip to stop herself from whispering his name as her trembling fingers continued to move against her, riding out the waves of pleasure rocking through her body. _Tom_.

B'Elanna breathed deeply, eyes closed, as she slumped against the wall. _Tom_. As much as she tried she still couldn't get him out of her head. She hadn't let anyone in in a long time and it seemed ridiculous to break that streak with him. He was a flirt and a trouble-maker. He'd betrayed Starfleet and he'd betrayed the Maquis. She didn't want to find herself next on that list. But all of that was a long time ago… And he had also proven himself to be a caring, devoted friend who had made clear that her boundaries and her feelings came first.

B'Elanna deactivated the sonic shower and pulled on her pajamas. They were as warm and comfortable as ever, but her skin was hypersensitive after her orgasm and she shivered a little as the fabric brushed over her skin. She crawled into bed and drifted off slowly, with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company in a bed that suddenly felt a little empty.

As B'Elanna got ready for her shift the next morning, she tried to push Tom out of her head and she might have succeeded if she hadn't run into him in the Mess Hall. As she grabbed a coffee and a piece of fruit from Neelix, she heard his laughter from across the room and looked up to see him sharing a joke with Harry. He caught her eye and smiled. B'Elanna smiled back and waved, but she couldn't help feeling tremendously awkward. The memory of his face coming to her as she brought herself to climax the night before was… embarrassing to say the least.

Harry waved her over and B'Elanna realized she didn't have a good reason not to join them. As she made her way over to their table, she mentally prepared herself for the reality of sitting through breakfast with someone she'd pleasured herself while thinking about the night before. It was a bizarre feeling and B'Elanna didn't particularly care for it. To her surprise however, Tom started standing up just as she sat down.

"Well, I'm afraid I've got to leave early this morning. I forgot my conn report and if it's late again, Chakotay's going to have my hide." B'Elanna heaved a small sigh of relief, which went conveniently unnoticed as Harry made a quick joke that she mostly missed, something about Tom forgetting his head if it wasn't attached.

Just as he was leaving, however, Tom turned back around. "You know, B'Elanna, I have some holodeck time Thursday night. If you want to get some dinner with me. If you're free." He smiled at her and B'Elanna crossed her legs, trying to block out the memories of the night before. "I promise, no leola root."

"I… I'll think about it." B'Elanna replied, feeling rather exposed.

"Hey, you know, I am sitting right here," Harry interjected, giving a look of mock disappointment and waving his hands at his friends.

B'Elanna could see Tom wince slightly, as if just remembering that Harry was sitting there. "Harry, would you like to join us?"

"Nah, I'm busy that night anyway," Harry said, giving what seemed to be a knowing smile. B'Elanna wondered exactly what Harry _thought_ he knew.

"Well, now that that is settled…" Tom said, shooting a look at Harry before turning back to B'Elanna, a smile on his face. "I hope I'll see you Thursday night." B'Elanna nodded in response and tried not to watch Tom as he left the Mess Hall. However, when she looked back at Harry, he had that same damn knowing smile on his face.

She glared at him and crossed her arms. "What are _you_ looking at?"


End file.
